The sound of BANTU is the sound of Lagos. The city, at once a source of inspiration and some exasperation, is not easily classified. The band, eclectic and varied, has both activist and fun inclinations. Its listeners and fans, as seen at the Afropolitan Vibes concert, comprises various nationalities. As the band itself was birthed away from Nigeria and then consolidated on the motherland, this blend of nationalities and sound seems fitting.

The title of the album Agbero International expresses the band’s intentions. Agbero is Yoruba slang for public vehicle conductor, a man hailing passersby to board his taxi or bus. The agbero implicated in the title is a crowd-puller of international reach, an apt metaphor for a band like BANTU, which deploys the estimable services of producer/sound engineer Aman Junaid who has worked with such artists and groups like TLC, George Clinton, Joi and Organized Noize on the new album.

Months before the release of Agberos International, BANTU travelled by road, more than 5000 kilometres across the continent, to attend a festival at the banks of the River Niger. “We were determined to show solidarity with our fellow brothers and sisters in Mali who have been battling with Islamist insurgency for years,” said Ade Bantu about the trip.